Aerius of Sebaste
Encyclopedia
- For Aerians (Marvel Comics), see Savage Land RacesSavage Land Races-Known Races:The Savage Land and Pangea are home to a number of humanoid races. Some of them were originally creations of the Atlanteans. The known tribe races of the Savage Land are described below:-Aerians:...
Aerius of Pontus (also Aërius, Aëris) was a 4th century presbyter
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
of Sebaste in Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...
. He taught doctrines that were in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
's beliefs. His views are known from St Epiphanius's
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...
Panarion
Panarion
In early Christian heresiology, the Panarion , to which 16th-century Latin translations gave the name Adversus Haereses , is the most important of the works of Epiphanius of Salamis...
in which he was accused of being an Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
. For a short period, he had many followers in Sebaste. He failed to make his teachings widely popular and his sect died out soon after his death.
Life and teachings
Aerius was a priestPriesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
and a friend and fellow ascetic of Eustathius of Sebaste
Eustathius of Sebaste
Eustathius, was bishop of Sebastia in Armenia. Together with Basil of Ancyra, he was the author of the sect of the Macedonians....
. Eustathius became bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Sebaste in the year 355 and would later ordain Aerius and put him in charge of the hospital in Sebaste. Aerius fell out with Eustathius, due to the bishop having deserted ascetic practices. Aerius soon began to teach new doctrines, insisting that there was no sacred character distinguishing bishop or priest from laymen, that the observance of the feast of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
was a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
, and that it was wrong to prescribe fasts or abstinences by law, and useless to pray for the dead. His followers, known as Aerians, fasted on Sundays and would not do so on the appointed fast-days, even during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
.
For a time, he had many followers in Sebaste, but he could not make his teachings widely popular. The Aerians, who followed his teachings, may have been Arians
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
as well. Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...
believed they were. In his best-known book Panarion, he attacked the Aerians and their founder. Written between 374 and 377, the work was a handbook for dealing with heretics. The author listed 80 heretical doctrines, some of which, like the teachings of Aerius, are not described in any other surviving documents from the time.
Legacy
Some sources, including The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, feel that Aerius received more attention than he was due from scholars such as St Robert BellarmineRobert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation...
and 17th century Anglican writers, "seeing how his sect died out soon after his death." His movement is considered important by some Protestants as indicating a tendency to some of their views even at an early period in the Church's
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
history. All extant evidence shows how strongly the Christians of his day were opposed to the teaching of Aerius.